Contents

Background

Orm Marius was born in the ancient underwater city of Atlantis, and because of this he possessed a physiology far superior to regular humans. He was the son of the Atlantean military chief, Orvax Marius and the queen of Atlantis, Atlanna. As a child he learnt that he had an older brother stuck on the surface world who was the child of his mother and a surface-dweller named Tom Curry, his name was Arthur. His father also had another child, this one illegitimate. This girl would be named Tula and would serve in the Atlantean Army. He was raised to believed that the people of the surface were cancerous and not to be interacted with.

Orm was brought up believing that he had a duty to serve Atlantis above all else, even family. He was taught the legends of his ancestors such as the first king of Atlantis Atlan, who forged seven relics out of enchanted metal. He also learnt of the seven kingdoms of Atlantis, most of which had been lost to time. However one kingdom was known to have survived, Xebel, which was a sworn enemy of Atlantis.

His father Orvax was extremely abusive and would often beat his son and wife, eventually Atlanna killed Orvax on Orm's twelfth birthday when he told her he had killed her surface family. Later on in his life Atlanna was supposedly killed in a freak accident and Orm was accused by Atlanna's royal advisor Vulko, this led to the advisor being banished to the surface world.

Eventually Arthur Curry traveled with Vulko to Atlantis, and Orm happily stepped down as King so his brother could take the throne. The brothers would have a healthy relationship, and Orm would tell Arthur cautionary tales about why the surface people shouldn't be trusted. Eventually Arthur saw the surface folk in the same way as Orm and the brothers planned contingencies should the surface attack their home.

However in the end Arthur stepped down as King, allowing Orm to take the throne once more. Orm traveled to Arthur's surface home in an attempt to get him to take his throne once again, however he failed to convince him.

Some time into his reign, Orm had to deal with a young man named Garth. This boy had purple eyes which meant within Atlantean tradition he should be cast out of the kingdom, however Orm allowed Garth to stay with his mother in Atlantis as he believed no citizen should be shunned for being different. While conversing with Tula about this boy the pair noticed that the fish around them were all staring at him. Orm recognized that this meant Arthur wished to contact him, and so travelled to a ship wreck where he met with his half-brother. Aquaman told Orm that two weeks ago a group of Atlanteans attacked a U.S. military base to retrieve an Atlantean artefact, and that one week ago a surface villain named Black Manta attacked and killed some of Arthur's friends in order to retrieve the relics of Atlan they were coveting. Arthur told Orm that someone from Atlantis had hired Manta and that he believed this someone was behind both incidents. Aquaman said he believed Orm was the one behind these attacks and that he was planning to attack the surface world, which Orm denied.

A short time later, the U.S. army were testing missiles in the ocean when one accidentally struck Atlantis. Unfortunately Orm perceived this as an attack on Atlantis and immediately began making preparations for war. Following the advice of Arthur's old war plans Orm flooded the coastal cities of Gotham, Metropolis and Boston, killing thousands of innocent civilians.

After flooding the cities Orm emerged in Boston while his armies waited under the seas. Orm threatened a fisherman, asking him where he would find the King of the surface. He was quickly confronted by his brother who told Orm that he was not the King of the surface, and that the surface people did not mean to attack Atlantis. After Orm refused to believe this claim, Arthur's allies- Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman arrived seeking to take Orm down. Ocean Master watched as Arthur attempted to reason with his allies on the Justice League. However when Batman threw an explosive at Orm, Arthur retaliated and began taking on Superman and Wonder Woman in hopes that Orm wouldn't call in his armies if he showed he had control of the situation. Ocean Master decided Batman should die for his treachery and so shocked him with the power of his enchanted trident, this made Arthur attack Orm as he didn't want Batman to die. At this moment Ocean Master signaled for his army to emerge from the oceans, and used his trident to defeat his brother and the Trinity. He then banished the four them to the Marianas Trench as he began his full assault on the surface world.

Orm began planting explosives around the city in order to completely level it. However Ocean Master's forces were soon halted by the reserve members of the Justice League such as Hawkman, Black Lightning and Vixen, who attempted to hold back the invasion. Eventually The Trench, a devolved kingdom of Atlantis, burst out of the sea and attacked Orm's forces.

Arthur and the League soon arrived, having freed themselves from the Marianas Trench. Arthur told Ocean Master that Vulko was the one controlling the Trench and he was the one that fired the missile on Atlantis, all because he sought to see Arthur challenge and replace Orm. Ocean Master expressed that he didn't believe Arthur and continued attacking him, while the brothers fought the League was able to disable all of Orm's bombs. This infuriated Orm who attempted to flood the city using his enchanted crown, however Arthur's beloved Mera and the magician Zatanna were able to stop this from taking place. Arthur then forced Orm to yield the crown to him, which he accepted. Orm then fought with his brother and the Justice League in order to drive back Vulko's forces. After the battle against Vulko and the Trench, Orm was taken into U.S. custody where he was transferred to the surface prison Belle Reve.